For Now
by TheEliteLabRatsLover
Summary: Barry turned to leave when Felicity's voice stopped him. "Oh, and Barry? Don't die this time. I mean it." Barry grinned at the familiar words and mock saluted as he sped out of the room.


**Two stories in just a couple of days!? OoO Insane, amirite? So this one is also short but sweet :P But I promise it's good. I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things. Since nobody seems to like the last story I posted, hopefully this one won't flop lol. *fingers crossed* Oh, and by the way, I shop Barlicity(?) or Smallen(?) or whatever, lol probably not those, but this could be viewed as that. I just love their friendship so. *shrugs* Plus I ship Olicity :P**

 **Disclaimer: With everything in my life, trust me, I don't have the time to own any of this.**

* * *

"Suit up."

Barry heard Oliver say after they received the mission alert of a shooting at the bank. Diggle, Oliver and Barry all headed to their suits in the Arrow Cave, and Barry couldn't help the smile that spread across his face when he saw his suit on the mannequin.

It still made his day that it was here. Knowing he had plenty of time before the others had gotten their suits on, he did a little bit of reflecting on why he was here. Cisco and Caitlin had also come to Star City, but due to an emergency with Dr. Wells, they had to go back; Barry speeding them there.

But he needed to stay and help with this case. They were getting close to solving it- _a little bit of super speed helped the case go faster_ -when they got an alert for the shooting. They weren't certain whether or not it was Daniel Brickwell, but him or not, it needed to be dealt with.

Barry super sped through changing and still finished before the others despite his waiting. Oliver and Dig walked out and Oliver nodded once, to which Barry returned. A signal that they were ready to go.

"The guy has got eight hostages; you guys need to hurry." Felicity stated and Barry inhaled as he nodded.

"What are we waiting for?" Barry turned to leave when Felicity's voice stopped him.

"Oh, and Barry?" He turned around, a confused look on his face when she gave him a soft, stern look. "Don't die this time. I mean it." Barry grinned at the familiar words and mock saluted. Turning around he ignored Oliver's and Diggle's confused looks and grabbed onto their arms; speeding out the door.

* * *

After dropping off Oliver and Dig outside the building, Barry immediately accessed the situation and after not seeing the gunman, sped right into the chaos; grabbing the hostages and running them out as his teammates came in.

By the time he got back from bringing the last hostage to the nearest hospital to check for any injuries, Oliver and Diggle was facing the shooter who held a machine gun.

A little over the top in Barry's mind.

Though he didn't appear to be the meta they were chasing, instead just your regular madman, he was still glad to rid Star City of the guy.

"Stand down." He heard Oliver's grave voice and watched as the guy tilted the gun up, a brief look of mock consideration on his face and Barry wasn't sure if he should take the risk of grabbing him now or waiting.

"Hmm, why would I do that...when I could just shoot you all now?" The man asked, immediately lowering his gun as he shot off a whole round of bullets.

Barry wasted no time in chasing after the bullets, knowing that they would hit his teammates, and any stray ones could prove to be fatal for any bystanders that may have shown up to the scene. Barry grabbed one bullet, dodging them as he reached his hand out for the next.

He ran to the guy, yanking the gun out of his arms and throwing it aside, before noticing the next round of bullets having been fired and headed towards his teammates. He immediately ran over there, grabbing bullets as he went and throwing them aside when he suddenly noticed the few headed straight towards Oliver.

His heart skipped a beat when he realized he might not make it in time.

He gritted his teeth as he struggled to run faster; reaching out and fingers just barely clasping around the bullet headed towards Oliver's chest. In his haste to grab the bullets, he hadn't noticed another one until he suddenly felt a sharp sting in his chest as he stopped running and everything went back to normal for the other heroes.

He gasped as he brought a hand up to his chest, vaguely aware of Arrow taking down the man who no longer had his gun, and stumbled forward. He turned around to see the man apprehended and now unconscious, and Dig coming to Barry's side as he bent over with his hand on his chest.

"Barry, are you okay?" Dig asked and Barry nodded rapidly, but he gasped as the pain suddenly crescendoed in his chest and his knees buckled; threatening to give out. He pulled his hand away, eyes widening, even as the sides of his vision darkened, as he saw the crimson liquid coating his glove.

Okay, he had definitely been hit.

 _What good did it do him to be able to outrun bullets when he couldn't even escape being shot himself?_ He didn't even hardly notice Oliver jogging over until he heard a voice over the rushing in his ears and assumed it to be his.

"I can't-I-I ca-" Barry choked out as he stood up and clutched his chest; air slipping away from him as he struggled to take a breath. He looked down at his chest, brows furrowing at the rapidly growing red substance across his chest and looked back up to see the blurred- _but was that worried?_ \- faces of his friends.

The last thing he was aware of was somebody shouting his name as he stumbled and his eyes rolled back into his head; a heavy thud resounding - _oh wait, that was him_ \- before the blackness consumed him entirely.

* * *

The next time Barry opened his eyes, he thought for sure he was going to pass right back out. A involuntary groan escaped past his lips as his eyes fluttered open. He blinked away the spots dancing across his vision to see a very concerned Felicity standing by his side, and Oliver beside her.

"You sir, do not listen very well." She said in a teary voice and he chuckled with a grimace as it caused pain in his chest. He recognized his surroundings to be in the Arrow Cave, and only now noticed that he was shirtless with a bandage around his chest. He began to try to sit up when he felt Oliver's hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Do not move." Oliver said sternly but softly. "Otherwise you'll just be proving Felicity's words to be true." Barry huffed quietly as he laid back down; frowning as the movement pulled his stitches. "I take it you remember what happened?" Barry tilted his head to the side in a movement resembling a shrug, but with stitches in his chest shrugging would be nearly impossible.

"Bits and pieces. I got shot, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

"But we got the bad guy?" Oliver sighed tiredly but fondly and nodded. "Good. That's all that matters." Felicity scoffed.

"Yeah, how about we just casually leave out the fact that you _didn't listen_ and you _died_." She said and Barry sighed.

"Felicity..."

"Don't 'Felicity' me, Barry. You died. Okay? You were _gone_ and if it wasn't for Oliver and Dig performing CPR you would still be _dead_. Your lung was crushed. You nearly bled out. So don't act like it's no big deal, got it?" Felicity rambled angrily and Oliver sent Barry a knowing look.

"I'm sorry-" Felicity rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Oh, just shut up," Felicity mumbled as she bent down and grabbed him for a hug. Barry winced as he tried to hug her back, chuckling. Felicity pulled back and pointed at him. "I'm still mad at you, by the way." She declared and Barry grinned with a nod.

"I am." She restated before groaning when Barry pouted. "Ugh, don't give me the puppy eyes." A look of indecision crossed her face at the look Barry was giving her before she sighed in frustration. "Fine. I forgive you." Barry smiled triumphantly.

"Atta' girl," He said, reaching his arm out for another hug and Oliver just chuckled at their antics as he walked away.

"But that doesn't mean I'm not still irritated. You owe me." Felicity declared as she pulled away once more; just grateful she was able to still hug him.

"Uh-huh. How about we let me heal a bit first?" Barry asked, a grimace/grin on his face and Felicity nodded.

"Oh, of course. You can't speed clean this room while you're still injured." She smirked and he playfully groaned as he laid his head back and gingerly threw his arm over his eyes.

"Ugh, Ollie, put me out of my mystery now." Barry sighed exasperatedly and Oliver grinned.

"Sorry, kid, but you disobeyed her. You get what's coming to you." Barry sighed.

"You guys are no fun." He murmured.

"Why don't you try sleeping? Maybe we'll be more fun when you wake back up." Dig suggested and Barry gave him a lazy thumbs up. Dig chuckled in response. Felicity sighed and shook her head lightly as she returned to her desk. She began typing when Oliver's voice broke her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see him smiling softly as he leaned up against the desk.

"He's okay now, Felicity. You can stop worrying." She nodded as she inhaled and glanced over at the sleeping form.

 _Yeah, for now._

But in their line of work, maybe for now is all that really mattered.

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 ***bows* PLEASE review. I don't mean to sound desperate.**

 **But I am. :P I need attention guys. Lol**


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